Sign up for In 2 Tim. 2:15 we are exhorted “Study to show yourself approved unto God.” How do we study so that we can be “approved by God?” The Apostle Paul also said, “the man of God must be thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim, 3:17). What did he mean? More importantly, what are you and I doing about it?
In all his Epistles, Paul stresses the need for Christians to grow in Christ. He insisted that no true follower of Jesus remain a babe in Christ, a beginner who has only the first principles of the Gospel and as such has a faith that has not yet grown deep roots. He is like a child who perhaps knows his alphabet and can count but is unable to write sentences or do math problems. A babe with little knowledge of God’s Word, is often vulnerable, weak, and dependent on others.
The Apostle Paul forcefully emphasizes the need for Christians not to remain spiritual babes, but to quickly proceed beyond the ‘first principles,’ going on to spiritual maturity. Since babies have no teeth, they must be fed milk; but when their teeth come in, they should be eating solid foods, so that they can grow healthy and strong.
Applying this principle to our own spiritual life, we read in Heb. 5:13-14; 6:1: “For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age…who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore, leaving the first principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection.…”
He also insists that all must come to a “unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God… unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13). To grow is surely not to stand still. But, how do we grow? Our Lord gives us the answer to this in Matt. 4:4 “…Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Here the Lord gives us full instructions to turn to God’s Word, and let every word from the mouth of God direct our lives by teaching us what He requires of us.
We can read the Bible, but just reading it is not enough; we must study, meditate, and even more than this, we must apply what we learn in our lives. Sounds simple, but to apply these principles is sometimes quite difficult. Paul clearly tells us that just grasping the principles of the doctrine of Christ with our mind is not enough. Will knowledge alone save us? No! Rather than save us, knowledge alone can destroy us. How can this be? Well, knowledge alone can give a swelled head, making us proud and boastful. Knowledge alone can make us take on the attitude of a know it all and make us feel superior to others, looking down on those who know less than we do. Knowledge alone, Paul said, “puffs up.” 1 Corinthians 8:1
While knowledge can be valuable, when gotten to boost a sense of superiority, it causes one to become intellectually vain and useless to God. Pride is at the top of the list of what God hates. On the other hand, humility is a virtue that truly pleases God. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (Jas. 4:6). Therefore, “Whoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted” (Matt. 23:12). Note also what James 4:17 says, “Therefore, to him who knows to do good (knows God’s truth and ways) and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
If we have grasped this important truth, we should seriously ask, “What am I doing about what I know? What am I doing with the knowledge God has revealed to me in His Word? Am I practicing it or merely reading and then, closing the book, forgetting to put it into practice?” We might ask another 2 question – “Why do I study the Bible in the first place? Is it so I can use what I learn to help me grow more and more like Christ Jesus day by day? Am I prepared to go beyond the basic tenets of the Christian faith and use the Bible in my life to help myself, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to attain maturity?”
You may have read many books in your lifetime and after putting them away, have forgotten all about them. The Bible is not like a textbook that is meant to be absorbed in the mind but does nothing to change or mold our life and character, both morally and spiritually.
How can we come to know and understand the Bible so that it will have this effect in our lives? David answers that question in Psalm 111:10: “A good understanding have they that do (obey) His commandments.” Yes, God expects us to act on what we learn in His Word, growing thereby in a deeper understanding of it daily.
Jas. 1: 22-25: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like one observing his natural face in a mirror; but goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was…but a doer of the word, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
© CDMI – Free Bible Students
